1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receptacle for collecting and retaining liquid fuel overflow from an air vent in a fuel tank of a boat while the fuel tank is being filled, thereby preventing water pollution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air vents are commonly provided in the fuel tanks of boats in order to permit air that is being displaced while the tank is being filled to escape. Such vents usually open out into a downwardly pointed outlet in the hull of the ship, so that vapor loss is minimized during normal use of the boat, and so that water cannot collect in the air vent passage.
A problem in the prior art was that fuel during refilling flowed out of the tank through the air vent and down the side of the boat, thereby polluting the water and wasting fuel. This resulted in a worsening of the already severe water pollution problem that exists in many lakes and marinas.
At least one one attempt has been made in the past to solve the above mentioned problem. This attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,125, which discloses a spillage collection device for fuel tanks in boats. However, a problem existed in the device in that it was not compatible with many of the marine fuel tank vents which are in use today. In the disclosed embodiment, a receptacle is attached directly to the rim of an air vent by means of a locking strap having a pair of spaced locking slots therein which engage the rim. Consequently, the receptacle cannot be attached to an air vent having a rim of a different diameter than the air vent it was made to be attached to.
A further deficiency of such prior art devices was that they were unable to collect droplets of fuel that are expelled from the nozzle at a relatively high velocity, a phenomenon commonly known as blow-by. Blow-by is caused by the turbulence created in the tank while it is being filled, and may result in a measurable volume of fuel being ejected through the air vent outlet as the air is being pushed out of the tank.
A further disadvantage of a prior art device of this type is that it tends to scrape the side of the boat while being placed over the rim of the air vent nozzle, since it must be slid between the rim of the nozzle and the hull of the boat.
It is clear, therefore, that there exists a long and unfilled need in the prior art for an apparatus that is mountable on the hull of a boat for collecting fuel leakage from fuel tank air vents that is universally mountable on all boats, does not mar the hull of a boat and is effective in intercepting blow-by.